


The Third Act

by LiviJoyann



Series: Danley [1]
Category: Now You See Me (Movies)
Genre: Daniel/Henley, Danley - Freeform, Danny/Henley, F/M, Five Horsemen, Four Horsemen, NYSM, NYSM2, Now You See Me - Freeform, Post Now You See Me 2, Return, Six Horsemen, denley, leaves, post NYSM2
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-08
Updated: 2016-07-12
Packaged: 2018-07-22 08:39:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7427848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LiviJoyann/pseuds/LiviJoyann
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post NYSM2: The Horsemen are left facing the task of yet again finding a female horseman after Lula is forced to return home. Jack and Merritt take it upon themselves to arrange a surprise for Danny: Henley. Daniel Atlas still isn't the same from when she left however, and the arrangement doesn't start off smoothly but Henley is determined not to give up on him. (Danley or Denley)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Her Final Escape Act

"I don't know what you want me to do, Henley. Why is this my fault?"

He watched her throw her hands up in the air and turn away from him in frustration, her red hair brushing against the back of her jet black jacket. In any other circumstance he'd be admiring how it fit her just right at every curve or how her skin nearly radiated in the day's last rays of sunlight sneaking through the window of the studio apartment or how her eyes seemed especially dark and hypnotizing that day. But at this point Daniel was too busy trying to prove his point- something he admittedly took too seriously sometimes. But despite the fact that he knew he was being more of an asshole about the matter than he needed to be, Danny persisted in proving he was right.

"It's not, you're just not making it any better!" she yelled back at him.

"Look, we have our orders. We-"

"Follow them. I got it, I know. But we've been waiting around for nearly a year now and nothing. How do we even know the eye is real at this point?"

"I-" Danny tried to cut in but Henley just talked even louder which told him she was even more upset than he had thought. Usually he's the one demanding the floor, not stopping until he got every last word he needed out in the air.

"Especially with the over precautions. Danny, you're driving all of us insane."

"We have to take extra precautions-"

"We are barely allowed out of the apartment!" she yelled, gesturing towards the door where Merritt and Jack sat on a sofa nearby, pretending not to be listening but there really weren't any barriers keeping them from seeing and hearing every last bit of Henley and Danny's argument. They usually tried to stay out of it the best they could, however.

"It's one thing to go out for a while safely and another to be completely reckless and idiotic!"

"I was going for a walk!"

"Alone!"

"To get away from you for a while, because I can't stand the constant condescending comments and controlling orders anymore."

"Henley, I-"

"Danny, I just can't wait around any longer. Not like this." Henley said, her voice dropping to a calmer tone as her eyes connected with his. Danny sighed and ran a hand through his hair, brushing the few locks that escaped out of his eyes.

"Well then let me see if I can get ahold of Dylan and we can figure out-" he started to attempt forming a compromise or at least something to keep her at bay so she could calm down and start thinking clearly again.

"I think I need to go." she said quietly. It was enough to stop him mid sentence though, a pang ripping through his chest. Did he hear her right?

"Wh- what?"

To be completely honest, this was one of the only times Danny had been rendered nearly speechless. His chest tightened and suddenly a billion thoughts went through his head as he played through the situations that could present themselves next.

She could just be being dramatic (not a stretch to say about Henley) and will calm down within the next ten minutes. Possibly she means just get out for a while? He knew she felt cooped up. "This isn't living" she had complained multiple times to him.

The other possibility ran through his mind as well. He just didn't want to accept it. Especially not now with how... close they had gotten over the past 10 months or so. She'd even said he was the only reason she felt like she could bear some of the endless days of boredom. He felt the same about her, but...

"I'm- I'm leaving." she choked out, her eyes now brimmed with tears.

Danny stayed completely still. He couldn't hear the murmur of Merritt and Jack in the background any longer either. The entire room was completely frozen in time and all eyes were on the female horseman.

When no one said anything, she turned and slowly made her way to her room. Danny could hear the unzipping of her suitcase. It had the same effect as nails on a chalkboard would. He cringed and his chest tightened further, his mind going absolutely nuts.

She couldn't leave, she wouldn't. Not after all the four of them had been through. Henley was too smart tow all away, wasn't she? But Danny knew somewhere deep down it wasn't a matter of wit and sensibility. The past year had confused her and tested her faith. It had in everyone, but Henley was much more of a free spirit. She couldn't sit still for long, especially not with Daniel pushing her away with the tight reins he had on the team.

"Um..." Jack muttered from behind Danny. "Is she... is she serious?" he asked tentatively as if he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer. Daniel didn't move from his spot, watching the threshold of Henley's room in which she disappeared. He wanted to run in there and stop her at all costs whether it required shameless begging or not, but his couldn't will himself to do anything.

Henley reappeared with her bag in hand, her gloved hand gripping the handle loosely as if she didn't have the strength to even get a firm grasp anymore. Her makeup was slightly smeared underneath her eyes which were red, bringing out the color of her irises. Her shoulders slumped below her usual confident posture and hadn't even bothered with her trademark red lipstick. Danny had seldom seen her look so defeated. That in itself twisted his stomach in knots. Had he done this to her?

Without a word, Henley gave Danny one last pained look before brushing past him towards the door. Daniel still couldn't move. He just remained staring at the place where she had stood a moment ago, trying to figure out something, anything to do.

"Henley... you know, you don't have to leave." Jack said. Daniel listened to the light sniffle of Henley's response.

"Yeah, kid. Not when this god forsaken group of freaks was just beginning to feel like family." Merritt said slightly joking, but with traces of pain in his voice.

"I'm sorry. You guys will always be my family. It's not goodbye, I just... I need to figure stuff out alone now." Henley choked out. Danny could hear the rustling of clothes as there were hugs exchanged behind him.

Move it, Altlas. What the hell are you doing? He thought to himself. His mind screamed at him to do something; to turn around and convince her to stay, to apologize, to kiss her and hope not to get slapped. He didn't know, but he couldn't just watch her leave.

"Hen." he finally blurted out, turning to see her look over at him expectantly. They all were waiting for him to say something. Danny himself was waiting for the words to come.

"I-"

He stuttered out as she walked closer to him, her black heeled boots clicking with each step. As she closed the gap between them to about two feet, he looked down into her wet eyes and shook his head.

"Don't go." he whispered. He didn't care how much pride he had to give up to spit out those two pained words. He didn't care that he had pages and pages of things that he meant to say instead of that one short phrase. All he could think of was her leaving. Henley was leaving.

"I'm sorry." she repeated, reaching a hand up to cup the side of his face gently. "But I can't wait any longer." she whispered back. Suddenly Danny knew she wasn't just talking about waiting for the eye to tell them their next move. She was talking about them: her and Danny. While they had grown closer, Daniel hadn't let anything progress too far just yet. There was a number of things holding him back like the fact that... well, he couldn't think of any right now but that was just because his mind was scattered at the moment. That's what he told himself anyway. Bottomline he was afraid. He was scared to move to something more but he couldn't bring a real reason to the table.

"I told you-" she said, running her thumb across his cheek as another tear escaped her. "It's not goodbye. Just for now."

And with that, Henley turned and with one last hug to Merritt and Jack, she opened the door and left.

A thick silence weighed in the air after that. Danny's eyes were still glued to the spot she had just stood in, touching his face and saying her goodbyes, despite her claim that that's not what they were. Daniel wasn't stupid. He knew the way she'd make things sound better than they really were to comfort others. The fact was that she was gone. She left them. She left him.

"Danny-" Merritt said, making Daniel aware that both Merritt and Jack were looking at him sadly now, knowing this was hitting him the hardest. Danny couldn't stand that though: the sympathetic pitying stares of others with their condescending tones they mistake for comfort or consolation.

Daniel turned slowly and stiffly, reaching into his inner jacket pocket to pull out a deck of cards to mindlessly shuffle as he just barely put one foot in front of the other to disappear into his room, closing the door shut behind him.

~X~

Two days went by and Danny still hadn't left the four walls he had enclosed himself in ever since she left. He mostly subconsciously went through small tricks he needed no practice on whatsoever. His mind was elsewhere though, running through every detail and trying to figure out how it all went so wrong. It wasn't remembering the bickering between them that stung him the most though, no. It was every sweet moment they shared ever since officially joining the eye. Ever since they entwined their fingers together before jumping onto the carousel that changed everything. Danny wouldn't call it a good change anymore either.

They wouldn't let go of each other that night. Whether it was out of excitement or from relief of being alive or just because it felt so right even though it was just his hand wrapped around hers. He remembered exactly how his stomach had flipped just from the simple gesture. He had wanted nothing more to wrap his arms around her and finally get the kiss he knew they both had wanted for the longest time, but with everything changing so quickly and with their emotions heightened he didn't want to do anything she'd later regret...

Now that he thought about it though, he really should've. Why did he have to over complicate everything?

Throughout the past months she wouldn't be afraid to get closer and closer. Whenever he'd be practicing a small card trick she'd come up behind him and rest her head on his shoulder, watching his every move and distracting him a lot more than he'd have like to admit.

When the four of them would watch movies together she'd come sit next to him as if it was to be automatically assumed that that was her spot anyway. She stretch her legs across his lap or she'd lay her head on his shoulder like it was the most casual thing in the world. His friends always made fun of his need to control everything. Maybe that's why she intimidated him so much sometimes. Whenever it came to her he felt completely and utterly out of control, like she could make him do anything she wanted if she really wanted to. It terrified him. It was why he pushed her away and ruined everything.

"Hey..." Daniel heard Merritt's voice come from outside his door. Danny sighed and remained motionless in his bed, drowning in the sea of blankets and pillows around him. It was dark save for the shreds of light filtering through his blinds that he was too unmotivated to go close which was completely out character for him.

"Danny come on, you've been in there for days." Merritt continued. This was also out of character for Merritt. There was rarely a moment where Merritt said anything to Danny that was not intended to mercilessly tease him.

"Let's get out of here, man." Jack's voice joined in. Danny rolled his eyes where he laid, remaining still. There was a brief moment of silence and Daniel thought that maybe his friends actually would let him wallow in his guilt in peace.

Knock, knock, knock.

Danny sighed.

"Go away." he mumbled. He was not in the mood to be judged as the control freak who completely lost control. He didn't find this case of irony particularly funny.

"Alright, if you say so." Merritt said unconvincingly. "Jack..." he muttered much quieter afterwards. Danny groaned. He knew what that meant.

With a few clicking noises of Jack digging around in Danny's lock, the door popped open revealing the two magicians standing in the doorway.

"Man you look awful." Merritt said, not bothering to sugar coat any part of his observation. Danny raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks."

"It's so depressing in here." Jack said, moving to throw open the curtains. Danny took the card he was fiddling with between his fingers and whipped it at Wilder's hand before he could get close. Jack hissed and retracted his arm, looking over at Danny surprised.

"Okay, you definitely need to get out of here."

After five minutes of endless attempts to persuade followed by short, sarcastic rebuttals from Danny, Merritt and Jack resorted to taking each one of Daniel's arms and hoisting him out of bed and onto his feet.

"Alright, alright. Let go. I can stand on my own. Thank you." Danny said, yanking his arms back from them. "Where are we going?"


	2. Can't Make Them Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henley's departure one year ago versus Lula's in present day. Lula leaving soon proves to be a bigger problem than the horsemen thought, however.

She felt a sad smile creeping up on her lips as she watched him with Merritt and Jack. The three boys were in a shady bar a block away from their flat, huddled around a table in the darkest corner of the room. Henley could still see them from her spot near the window though. She wouldn't ever admit to watching them after she had left but her curiosity had gotten the better of her. The broken stare on Danny's face couldn't be the last memory of him before she left. Seeing that the guys were taking him out to do something for fun, even though it was easy to infer that it was borderline forced, was relieving.

Looking inside, Henley watched Danny stare forward blankly while Merritt tried pushing a bottle of liquor in his face. Daniel smiled but it was obviously forced while pushing away the bottle, staring down at his empty glass that they had made him finish a few times over again. Jack had a hand on Danny's shoulder and was talking with more stressed syllables than usual from the looks of it. Henley guessed it was pretty loud over the bar and Jack was trying to shout over the chaos- something to cheer Danny up. What a sweet kid. She'd miss him.

The fact that Daniel needed cheering up in the first place was nearly enough to make her go running into the place. She'd burst in, not hesitating to walk right up to him and finally, finally crash their lips together so that they could quit all of the dodging and messing around. But things had gotten complicated (as everything with Danny often gets). There was the fact that their relationship was already so damaged from before. She still wouldn't forget the image of him completely dismissing her for Rebecca constantly, even if it was just a failed attempt to get Henley's attention in the long run. She wouldn't forget how condescending he always was to her- is to her that is. She wouldn't forget all the fights, the way she couldn't take it anymore and left him years ago and now once again just days ago. However that didn't mean she'd never forgive him. She had forgiven him.

She remembered the good things too though. That was almost more of a problem than the unfavorable memories. He'd watch her from afar when he though she wasn't looking, a small admiring smile on his face, something that Henley lived just to see sometimes. She could still feel the electricity that would run through her whenever he'd touch her whether it be just passing over props and brushing fingers during a show or intentionally putting his arm around her whenever he felt "adventurous". She remembered the rare but amazing nights where they'd find that they both couldn't sleep so they'd stay up all night and talk instead. Of course he'd always ruin the moment the next day by being an ass but that was Danny. He didn't mean to push people away and she knew that. He just would speak before thinking and that'd lead to people hating him and enemies made.

Snapping out of her thoughts, Henley took a deep breath and watched Merritt and Jack hustling Danny, ruffling his hair and shoving him around playfully until he cracked a real smile. It was a faint one with traces of pain still present, but the sight was still enough for Henley's eyes to fill and for a short laugh to escape her deep red lips. With that image in mind, she clenched her fists tightly at her sides, the leather of her gloves squeaking in protest.

She'd come back to him. She knew she would. No matter how many times she'd try to leave she'd always have to come back. Wouldn't she?

That's the reason you're leaving. She told herself. She needed space away to figure that part out. So Henley looked at her friends one last time and then disappeared into the crowd.

~X~

*** 1 year later ***

~X~

"Your toothbrush..." Jack droned on, continuing his run-through of the list in his head.

"Yep." Lula confirmed almost automatically.

"Make-up-"

"Uh-huh."

"Taser?"

"Uh, duh." she joked, patting her suitcase.

"Kiss?" Jack added in, cocking an eyebrow suggestively at her. Lula smiled and leaned in to press her lips to his. Jack sighed happily before kissing her back, savoring the slight hint of the taste of her lipstick: something he was going to miss more than he could even imagine. He slid his hand up her shirt and over her back, enjoying the smoothness of the skin of her back.

Lula eventually pulled away, her face not but inches from his. With a devilish smile, she cocked her head to the side.

"Phone?" she added, as if making an addition to his checklist of items she needed to have packed. Jack's eyebrows furrowed for a moment before he let the muscles in his face relax with realization. Reaching for his back pocket, Jack came up empty handed. He watched Lula hold up his own phone in front of his face mockingly so that he could hurriedly snatch it back and roll his eyes.

"I'll really miss that." he said sarcastically, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

"Sh, you know you will. You don't fool me Wilder." she said smiling at him. The commotion of the train station progressed around them, but neither noticed at the moment. All Jack could focus on was taking in the features of her face so that he wouldn't forget them after she left. As he did, Lula's face grew more serious and she put a hand on the side of his head.

"You sure it's ok for me to go?" she asked hesitantly.

"Lu, your Dad isn't doing well. You need to go see him." Jack answered immediately. When Lula had gotten the call in the middle of the night that her father had taken a turn for the worse in his current condition with cancer, it hadn't taken a lengthy conversation to decide that this was what was best for her right now. Besides, the eye hadn't given them any instructions for months now, and seeing how the last hiatus stretched on, it was reasonable to think she had ample time before they needed her again for the show. The only difficult part of her decision to leave for the time being was the fact that she'd have to leave Jack behind for a while. She had invited him but both of them knew it was most reasonable for the rest of the horsemen to all stick together, especially while in hiding. Just traveling back to her hometown in itself was extremely risky and set Jack on edge knowing she was in potential danger, but who knew how longer her Dad would be around.

"I know, I know." she said, fidgeting with her hands as she often did. Jack wrapped them in his own, looking her in the eyes.

"I'll miss you." he said quietly, loving the small smile it pulled from her.

"And I suppose I'll miss you." she said, elbowing him gently. "A little maybe."

Jack chuckled and leaned in for another kiss. Before they could even get more than a peck out of it however, the loud rattle of the train approached, getting louder and louder. Jack sighed sadly and Lula stooped down to pick up her bags.

"Don't let Danny boss you around too much."

"I won't."

"Or Merritt tease you too much."

"No promises."

"Don't do any cool bad-ass crime stuff without me either." she warned as the train pulled up in front of them. The doors opened and people started to pile on. Jack felt his heart sink just a little at the last look she gave him before forcing a smile and turning to board. He watched his girlfriend go, sitting down in a seat next to the window so that he could see her through the glass from where he stood. As the doors shut with a small burst of air and the cart lurched forward, Lula lifted her hand to wave goodbye one last time. Jack laughed when he saw that she was holding his belt, the one he was wearing all but seconds ago, as she waved. She laughed too and that was the last thing he saw of her before her and the train to southern Jersey disappeared into the night.

Sighing, Jack kicked the ground lightly with his converse and then turned on his heel, stuffing his hands in his jeans pockets and heading back to the safe house.

When he arrived, he went through all the precautionary measures it took to even enter the place. This consisted of a few codes, puzzles and tricks instead of a lock like normal people may have for their house. It only took him a moment as he was used to the routine however, and soon Wilder found himself trudging through the front door, making his way towards the library where Danny and Merritt's voices emanated.

"Jack, is that you?" Danny asked hurriedly and almost demandingly. Jack rolled his eyes. Can't relax from this guy for two seconds. He thought. Jack didn't much mind, though. He had no interest in taking control and being responsible for everything the team did. If Daniel wanted to take that up, then by all means...

"Yeah. Just dropped Lula off. She's on her way home. We really can't seem to make the girls stay." he said meaning it to be a joke. It turned out a bit more solemnly than what he was going for. Jack entered the library and stopped in the threshold. He had expected his friends to be lounging around playing with cards, drinking beer, or at least somehow bugging the hell out of each other just for the fun of it, but that's not how the scene was displayed in front of him at all. Instead, Danny and Merritt were huddled around an array of papers on the middle table in the library, their brows creased and eyes focused. Danny's fingers were rapidly tapping on the table as he often subconsciously did while nervously thinking at a million miles per second.

"Is it too late to bring her back?" Merritt asked doubtfully, looking up at Jack. Wilder looked between the two magicians in front of him, not caring how stupid his look of befuddlement most likely looked right then.

"Yeah... why?"

"Instructions." Danny said, slamming his hand down on the table and straightening. He began pacing, glancing over at Jack just for a moment to say, "From the Eye."


	3. Please Welcome Back...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Faced with the problem of finding another horseman, Merritt and Jack act behind Danny's back for the return of an old friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the feedback! Updates coming soon

"You're crazy." Jack stated plainly, looking at Danny in disbelief. He knew Daniel was confident to the point of severe cockiness, but what he was suggesting was nearly impossible.

"No, absolutely not." Dylan, who had joined the horsemen moments ago in the library, agreed. "This is a four person show, Atlas."

"We could take it out with three, easily." Danny argued.

"I'm not with you on this one." Merritt said hesitantly, looking in between his friends.

"What- Look, what other choice do we have? We can't keep pulling professional female magicians out of thin air." Danny rushed out his words.

"Well, maybe Lula will be back in time for the show." Jack suggested, looking over at Dylan specifically.

"The show's in two weeks." Daniel pointed out. "And even if she was, she would've missed practice. We can't have her ruin our image up there-"

"Dude." Jack interrupted, giving Daniel his "what the hell" face. Danny threw up his hands.

"What! I'm just spitting out facts here-"

"Alright, come on. Knock it off." Dylan said, waving his hand in the air to quiet Danny and Jack. Rhodes rubbed his hand the stubble of his jaw and sighed, looking down at the show blueprints. "I will try to figure something out. In the mean time, you three need to get ready for the announcement tomorrow."

Danny nodded, looking down at the instructions as well. Tomorrow at noon they were supposed to make an appearance in Central Park to announce their upcoming show which was all the way in Las Vegas. At least they wouldn't need a fourth member for that. Still though, Danny was sure they didn't need one for even the show. Well, that's what he tried to pass it off as. Really, he just didn't want to bring up the possibility of contacting a certain former horseman.

"You got it, boss." Merritt said, giving Dylan a tired salute before the group disbanded and went their separate directions.

~X~

"Jack..." Merritt's voice whispered from somewhere unseen. Jack furrowed his brow and turned around to see the mentalist leaning against the wall around the corner of the hallway, waving Jack over to him inconspicuously. Wilder smiled and rolled his eyes at Merritt's overly exaggerated and unnecessary dramatic, secretive behavior.

"I know you're thinking what I am." Merritt whispered, glancing over towards Danny as if to make sure he wasn't listening. Jack scoffed at this and shook his head.

"I thought you agreed to no freaky mentalist stuff on any of us." Jack said, a suspicious but slightly amused expression on his face. Merritt always got weird when he was secretive. Jack could hardly take him seriously.

"Henley." Merritt plainly said, ignoring Jack's previous comment. Jack's amused expression fell and he grew serious. Of course she was the first thing he thought of when the team was trying to think of their options they had without Lula for the time being. "You were thinking it, I was thinking, everyone was thinking it and you know it." Merritt continued. "Danny will just never admit it and Dylan is like us."

"Like us?"

"Too scared to mention it in front of Danny." Merritt added with a touch of humor. Jack snickered and nodded. That was in fact why Jack himself didn't say anything. Henley leaving really put a dent in Danny, and therefore the team as whole. Of course it hurt them all just not having her there, but since it affected Danny the most, he became even more controlling and irritating. Merritt and Jack were pretty govvvod about putting up with it since they knew Danny was just trying to find an alternative to showing that he was upset, but man it had been a rough couple of months after she had gone. And then the whole deal with Daniel going to talk to what he thought was the eye alone and trying to push Dylan out... needless to say, Henley was a sensitive topic whether Daniel admitted it or not.

"So... what are we going to do?"

"The right, mature thing."

Jack thought about that for a moment, looking at the wall meaninglessly while pondering what Merritt meant.

"...tell Danny-"

"What!?" Merritt instantly interrupted, looking at Jack like he was crazy. "No, no. We're going to find Henley and convince her to come back and not tell dear Daniel. It'll be a surprise! He deserves this!" Merritt finished a little too enthusiastically, holding out his hands in the air like he just threw great news at Jack and was waiting for the kid's excitement to match his own. Jack just gave a half smile.

"You sure this isn't because you're just too scared to ask Danny?"

"Terrified." Merritt said, making Jack chuckle and run his hand through his hair while thinking about Merritt's idea. He had to admit, he didn't have any wish to bring anything up to Daniel regarding Henley. Sure, she was brought up occasionally, but during those first months or so without her, Daniel had made it pretty clear that he didn't want to talk about it much.

"Alright, I'm in."

Before Merritt could celebrate too much however, a new voice came from right above them.

"I don't know what you guys are talking about, and honestly I really don't care." Danny's voice came from at the top of the stairs that Jack and Merritt stood by.

Shit... Jack thought, gaze snapping up to see Daniel leaning over the railing with a disapproving gaze. How'd he get up there without us noticing?

"I know it's about me. I know it can't be good. Just keep it down, I want to go to sleep." He rushed out. It still amazed Jack to this day how fast his friend was able to stutter out words.

"Uh..." Merritt mumbled from besides Jack. "Will do, Captain." was all he said. Daniel raised his eyebrows as if to give a "yeah you better" and rolled his eyes as he walked to his room down the hall upstairs. As soon as the door shut, Merritt returned to his plan.

"Meet me in my room in ten. I've got info on where she may be."

"What? How-" Jack started to try and question, but Merritt was already running up the stairs not even bothered to recognize Jack's attempts at questioning him. Wilder shook his head. Things were going to get crazy around here real fast.

~X~

"Don't let them touch you. Don't let them even come close. If we get caught in a crowd of fans, we're-"

"In deep shit. We got it." Merritt interrupted, earning another eye roll from Danny.

"All I'm saying is we're highly wanted criminals. Be careful."

Jack and Merritt mumbled agreements mostly because they were too tired to argue Daniel on being less of a dick about it. The reason they were so tired... well, they didn't have too much time to go out and find Henley. Only last night to be exact. When they finally did, they had realized she was halfway across the world and had to do their best to find a contact to her since there was obviously no time to get out there and retrieve her themselves. It was a long conversation to say the least between the three of them, a lot of which Henley was being extremely emotional just about hearing their voices again, but that wasn't too say it ended in the way Merritt would've hoped either.

The thing was, Henley wasn't sure she wanted to come back. It was a possibility Merritt failed to consider, as stupid as that sounded. She had left because they were living in secret with no sign from the eye whatsoever. Now that they were back in business, why wouldn't she want to return?

However, she had adapted to her new life, she had told them. Sure, she missed being a horseman. She thought about it everyday, she explained. However she wasn't sure if she could handle the outlaw part of the deal again. The hiding, the running, the risks. Merritt understood, but he was also stubborn and determined to get his way. That had left him with his last option. He had to hit the nerve that would ensure her cooperation: J. Daniel Atlas, of course.

After a good amount of dramatizing Daniel's worsened situation without her and how much he wanted her to come back (there was a bit of... fibbing, Merritt would admit: Henley thought Danny knew about their little plan) and so on, she had finally given in. Now there was just the problem on whether or not she'd make it to the announcement on time. With five minutes left to go, there was no sign of her. Merritt exchanged a nervous glance with Jack. He mentally cringed when he saw Daniel notice it out of the corner of his eye, but it was too late to go back on everything now.

"You guys ready?" Jack said, most likely to distract Danny from the fact that the other two were acting so suspicious.

"Uh... yeah." Danny stammered, seeming a bit confused but brushing it off. "Hey wait, um..." He added, appearing to drop his suspicion. The three of them were in a huddle standing below Central Park in an old tunnel hardly anyone knew was still there so Merritt could pretty easily see the nervous twitches Danny always did before he spoke up about something.

"Spit it out, we've got to go soon." Merritt rushed him. Danny rolled his eyes and sighed, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head like he was preparing to say something big. Merritt winced. He could read Danny's tells pretty smoothly after living with him for so long. Not to mention that was Merritt's job to begin with, but either way he knew Danny was about to do something very big for him: an apology.

"So I know I've been even more... picky about things over the past few months-"

"Way over controlling." Merritt agreed nodding.

"-really an ass." Jack was adding in as well.

"Completely anal." Merritt said. "About everything."

"Okay, okay." Daniel said, waving his hand in the air to stop them. "Can- can I talk?" he asked in an annoyed quick paced stutter of words. "Thanks." he said sarcastically before growing serious again.

"I... I'm sorry that I've been a dick. And over controlling. And anal-" Danny sighed and glanced at Merritt, giving a small apologetic smile. "About everything." he repeated Merritt's earlier words, making Merritt smile just a bit. Daniel was all of those things, but he was also one of his best friends. Danny was a good kid a heart, just a bit of an ass at first.

"But I'm glad you guys can put up with me. I obviously didn't handle, um..." Danny struggled to get the right words out. "Henley leaving, very well." he finished, looking down at the ground for a moment but then resuming his awkward, stumbling apology presence. "But you guys stuck around and I'm really grateful. Thanks." he finished, not looking up at them at first but instead down at his shoes. Merritt knew it was hard for Danny to set aside his pride and say things like this so he honestly did appreciate it. Just knowing about the surprise that was possibly coming in the next five minutes for him however... he felt a little shitty that Danny was the one apologizing to them. Soon things were going to flip big time.

"Alright, you guys are on." Dylan said, coming running down the tunnel. He had previously been rounding up a crowd outside and scoping out the place for police. Well he said "scoping out", but really what he meant was getting rid of all the cops in the area in one way or another whether it be a fake radio-in for help at another part of the city or some other mode of deception to clear out the park. Needless to say, he must've done it effectively if they were all set to go. Danny's apology still hanging heavy in the air between the three guys, Merritt clapped a hand on Daniel's back forcing a smile from Atlas.

"Well, Danny Boy." Merritt started, shaking Daniel's shoulder and earning a scoff at the use of the nickname Merritt used to annoy him. "Don't quite thank us yet."

Daniel's face transformed to confused and slightly frightened when Merritt said this, but there was no time for questions which is just what Merritt wanted. That didn't stop Danny from trying, though.

"What- Wait, Merritt!"

Jack and Merritt exchanged nervous smiles as they all moved towards the end of the tunnel, ready to go out and greet the crowd.

"Merritt-" Danny kept trying, now only focused on getting answers out of his fellow magicians. "Merritt, seriously! If-"

"Sorry, time to go." Merritt interrupted. He pushed open the small hatch above their heads. This was going to be awfully interesting.

~X~

Danny hoisted himself up into the dull light of Central Park. It was a muggy, dim day with a light drizzle coming down to dampen the concrete. He didn't have much time to observe his surroundings however, because as soon as they were up and on their feet, they were bathed in a hoard of feathers and flapping wings. The illusion was that all of the pigeons in the park had somehow "magically" congregated at the base of Bethesda fountain right where the horsemen were to emerge from the tunnel. As soon as they did, the pigeons took off, creating a wall of birds before them so that they had time to climb up onto the actual fountain without being seen. The actual existence of the birds wasn't the illusion though- the birds were real, however they were specially trained and pre-bought by Dylan... wherever he found that kind of stuff.

With no time to lose, Danny jumped from the rim of the lower bowl of the fountain up to the first raised platform, trying to keep as dry as possible. He was followed by Jack and Merritt just in time for them to gain their composition and be calmly standing on the upper level of the fountain looking out at the crowd as the mass of birds disappeared, successfully creating the image of "just appearing out of no where" on the fountain within a flock of birds. They were lucky they pulled it off to be honest. They only had time to practice it once or twice early this morning around four a.m. before the park opened.

"Hello, New York!" Daniel was the first to talk as always. The crowd before them instantly went absolutely wild. For a moment, Merritt and Jack's strange behavior was forgotten and Danny was just basking in the attention and adoring fans. He'd always love the adrenaline of being up in front of all those people, screaming and cheering for their performance. There was a sizable crowd too for this being such a last second, unofficial event.

"We've had to keep low these past couple of months." Jack continued, a smile clear on his face as well. He actually reminded Danny a bit of himself when Daniel was younger and just starting to become more famous. The feeling was still new to Jack, and it was always interesting for the other horseman to watch him still be in awe of being up on stage.

"But we're back at it." Merritt added.

"This time, we will be going a little further from home however." Danny announced. He tried to ignore irritating seeping of water through his shoes from literally standing in a fountain. He understand that it probably looked cool, but he couldn't help but be slightly annoyed at Dylan's choice of location.

"Make sure you all get yourselves down to Las Vegas! We will be performing in two weeks from now." Merritt boomed over the excited chatter below them.

"Now you may be wondering where our fourth horseman is." Daniel started. They still weren't sure what they were going to do about that, but at least they could make it sound like they did.

"Lula is taking some time off for now." Jack explained. The crowd "awed" in disappointment. At that moment while Daniel was ready to explain that the show would go on in one way or another, he caught Merritt and Jack exchanging that same damn suspicious glances as if they knew something he didn't. He knew they knew something they didn't. With that in mind, it wasn't too much of a surprise when Merritt spoke instead of Danny which wasn't at all what they rehearsed.

"So for now, we'd like to welcome back someone very special to us." he said, Danny froze and felt his breath catch in his throat. What the hell was he talking about? Why was this kept from him? Danny hated when he didn't have a hand in things... more like complete control if was going to be honest. It wasn't a secret that he liked to to be in charge in most of their affairs.

"Um, what." he muttered quietly to Merritt who continued to ignore him.

"Ladies and Gentleman," Jack started, making Danny especially nervous now. He wasn't stupid- he knew what the most logical assumption to make was but he didn't want to believe it. They wouldn't...

"A former horseman, a fantastic magician, and a really good friend of ours..."

They would.

"Please welcome back, Henley Reeves!"

Danny's heart nearly stopped. His eyes were wider than usual as much as he would've liked not to show any sign of this affecting him. He suddenly felt dizzy, panicked, and nauseous all at the same time. He didn't know how to feel honestly.

Regardless on how he felt about this whole secretive arrangement, a flame sparked from behind the crowd. They cleared a pathway just in time for the fire to blaze a line of flames through the hoard of fans. They all gasped with wonder as the flames spread to the fountain and surrounded the rim. This was definitely the work of Henley. There was no mention of this in any of the instructions or rehearsals.

With one final burst of flames right besides Jack who was the furthest from Danny, she appeared standing up with them on the fountain. Danny felt completely incapacitated. He was unable to move, to speak, to react... he just stared at her with utter disbelief. Most things about her were the same- maybe her hair was a bit longer and her make up just a bit different but still... Her red hair stuck out from the dark, gloomy atmosphere around her, her eyes were somehow soft but hard and determined at the same time. They glowed with the same vibrance he had loved for years, her voice radiating with that same liveliness.

"Hi everyone!" she shouted, and the crowd went absolutely nuts. The sound was nearly deafening, everyone jumping up and down, hands in the air, shouts of "I love you Henley" and "Welcome back, Henley" all throughout the area. Danny watched as Jack beamed, looking at Henley and pulling her into a strong hug.

He wanted to be mad in that moment. He wanted to be furious at Merritt and Jack for arranging this behind his back and he wanted to be even more furious at her for agreeing to keep him in the dark. The look on her face was one of pure happiness as she threw her arms around Merritt too, even the mentalist getting a bit more emotional than usual. At least for a few more minutes, Danny could hold off on blowing up on them. He was much too phased to participate in the grand reuniting moment however. Instead, when Henley's dark eyes moved to him, he quickly looked away. Danny took a few stuttering breaths, his hand tapping rapidly at his side nervously.

"Spread the word. Two weeks from now in Vegas!" Jack shouted. Danny was still aware of Henley's eyes boring in him. He refused to look at her though.

"We are the four horsemen." Merritt said. There was a long pause and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Merritt and Jack look at Henley expectantly. Henley hesitantly tore her eyes away from Danny to look back at the crowd as if she had just remember where she was and what she was doing.

"We'll see you soon." she promised the crowd. Danny knew this was his cue. He might not have been able to choke any words out after Henley's surprise arrival, but he at least forced himself to carry out the last trick. Pulling out a match from his jacket pocket he held it in front of his face and lightly blew on the end, the match igniting instantly. The fans all cheered and Daniel took a deep breath, tossing the match into the water below. Within a fraction of a second, everything in the fountain that was water suddenly igniting into a blazing fire instead (or a pseudo fire in reality, but the crowd didn't need to know that). To everyone watching, it seemed as if the horsemen were swallowed by the burst of flames, disappearing all together when the fire diminished back into a calm fountain of regular water. They all knew it was part of the show however, and erupted into admiring screams and applause.

Giving the audience a show was easy. Appearing in a cloud of pigeons out of nowhere was easy. Disappearing in a fountain of flames? Easy. However what the horsemen were about to be faced with behind the scenes...

Well... Danny thought sarcastically and bitterly as he touched down back within the underground tunnel, next to his idiotic friends and the girl he had convinced himself he had loved for years. This'll be fun.


	4. Loss of Control

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Danny handles the return of Henley, and not at all in a good way.

The holes being drilled into the back of his head by her curious eyes was kicking his heart rate up to twice as fast as it usually beat. Daniel still tapped rapidly at his side, trying to distract himself from her gaze upon him. The four horsemen walked swiftly down the cramped tunnel towards Dylan who waited for them at the end of the hallway. Did he know about this? Would he really play into Merritt and Jack's childish secrets and go behind Danny's back? The thought flared even more anger within him.

However, as they got closer to their leader, Dylan's face was similar to Daniel's when he had first seen Henley. Instantly, Danny knew this was a surprise to him as well. What were those two thinking? He swore to God, somehow they'd pay for this.

"Danny..." her voice came gently from behind him. Hearing her voice say his name again was enough to twist his chest to the point where it felt like it was hard to breathe. He just continued to walk quickly to Dylan who had his arms raised in the air in confusion, but his face showed that it was a good kind of befuddlement. He gazed behind Danny towards where the sound of heels clacking on the cement floor emanated, taking in Henley's appearance with shock.

"What was that?" he asked, although not accusingly in the slightest. "Was this you guys?"

"No." Danny answered immediately and bitterly. He could almost feel the blow that it took to Henley which he felt a bit bad about, but at the moment he was mostly just pissed.

"Jack and I did some digging..." Merritt said, before anyone could react to Danny's rude commentary. "And convincing." he added, looking at Henley with a mock-annoyed facial expression. Danny looked away from them, but watched her out of the corner of his eye. She forced a smile at Merritt quickly but her gaze kept shifting to Danny; a very concerned gaze at that. He still refused to look back. He kept his stubborn glare at the wall, trying to keep his nervous ticks controlled.

"Well, I'm ecstatic to see you." Dylan was saying, moving in for a hug.

Oh, how disgustingly adorable. Danny thought to himself. He'd never admit that every inch of him wanted the same- just to throw his arms around her and enjoy the fact that she was with them again and the horsemen were whole. He liked Lula a lot and wouldn't have minded if she had permanently been the fourth member to their "little family" as Lula had always called it. Nothing would ever feel like it had when the original four were together, though. Especially when it meant Henley being there. God, he had missed her like crazy. But he was J. Daniel Atlas. He didn't often willingly do sentiments or anything that left him vulnerable for that matter. He wouldn't admit that anyone affected him in anyway, no. Nothing that would compromise his ego or the walls he had built so high.

"Thrilled." he muttered sarcastically under his breath, earning a punch in the arm from Merritt and a disapproving glare from Jack who were the only ones who heard. Daniel didn't care though.

"I wish Daniel shared your enthusiasm." Henley inserted a sassy comment, stepping back to cross her arms and look at him. Danny scoffed. Any other person would try to dance around the awkward tension in the air, but Henley being Henley went straight for what she was thinking. It drove him crazy sometimes, but it was one of the reasons he had liked her so much in the first place.

"I'm just wondering why this all went on without me hearing as much as a word about it. That's all." He said, throwing his hands up and letting them fall back to his sides. Merritt took a deep breath like he was about to go into a long explanation, so Danny just turned in irritation and began walking away.

"Look, Daniel. Henley didn't know we didn't tell you. Don't take this out on her."

"Yeah, we were just afraid of how you'd react." Jack added. Danny spun around at this, fuming at this point.

"Oh, so the logical solution then would be to go behind my back with a decision that should've been made as a team, is that it?"

"Do you mean a 'team' decision, or a J. Daniel Atlas decision?" Merritt asked. Danny glared at him, clenching his jaw and fist. They always did this. Whenever they all got into fights they always ganged up on him. Maybe with good reason, he secretly would admit. In the moment however, he only cared about making his point clear.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You would've shot us down instantly! Don't deny it! And it wouldn't have been for any damn good reason either. You would've been much too emotionally connected to-"

"Okay, okay. No. If you're trying to say that you were just too much of a coward to come and tell me, then just say it."

"Are you angry at them for going behind your back or are you angry at me for leaving in the first place?" Henley suddenly spoke up, her eyes staring knowingly at Danny making him want to cringe back. She was sassy and sarcastic, but Henley underlying nature was kind and gentle, so it was always a little unsettling when her demeanor changed to a more rigid and unforgiving appearance. It was just as troubling when she completely guessed what he was really feeling at the same time. His mind shouted yes but of course, his lips refused to give into that loss of power. Instead he was just quiet, unable to find words to prove her wrong (mostly because she was right). The only thing she may have been wrong about was that he was angry. Sure, he turned his feelings into anger as a safeguard but what he really was feeling was hurt. One year later and he still was hurt by her abandoning him.

"Come on, Man." Jack spoke up. "Don't be a dick."

Daniel scoffed again, rolling his eyes and shifting his weight. He looked directly at Henley, locking gazes with her. In her eyes he saw hope that he'd let up. He had always let her down, though. This time wasn't an exception. With every bit of sarcasm and bitterness left in him after being tired out just thinking of the situation in general, he narrowed his eyes and began walking backwards.

"So very glad you're back, Henley." he muttered, turning on his heel and walking away. Part of him hated himself. That was pretty shitty, even for him. Daniel could envision the fall of her facial expression, the disappointment written in her features. She disappointed him first though. That's what he kept convincing himself to keep walking.

"Where are you going?" Dylan yelled after him. Danny didn't answer, instead tugging off his tie and tossing it aside as he walked to the exit of the tunnel. "We're leaving for Vegas tomorrow. Don't forget!"

Danny sighed and put his hands in his pockets. He needed to get drunk.

~X~

Danny walked for hours around the city. He kept his hood up both so that no one would recognize him and because there was a constant and irritating drizzle that sent shivers through his body. He thought about nothing but then again everything which didn't make sense when he thought about it like that, but it was exactly how it felt taking one mindless step after another traveling Manhattan. Thank God everyone was always in a hurry to be somewhere and too preoccupied with their own lives in New York, or else there would've been crowds to force him into some sort of card trick or something of the sort. He could've even attracted the attention of the FBI, but Daniel wasn't worrying about that for once. His mind was running wild and he needed to get away from everything for a while.

When it began to get dark, Danny found himself in a 'hole in the wall' type of bar. He sat on one of the creaky old wooden stools, downing another glass of liquor. He couldn't even remember which one he had ordered this time. He just knew that it clouded his thoughts distracting him from thinking of Henley which he liked. With this in mind, he got the bartenders attention again.

"One more please." he said, pushing away the empty glass. Sighing, Daniel ran his hands through his hair and closing his eyes against the dizziness that was building from his drink after drink. His hair was starting to get long again. He had cut it after Henley left and said it was because it was just getting annoying. That was partially true but he mostly just needed a change. Seeing it would just remind him of how much she loved to ruffle it to drive him nuts. He had missed it after a while though. As Henley began to become more of a memory as time passed by, he wanted it back almost as if it would keep her from falling further into distant memory.

"Here you go."

The man behind the bar slid another drink to Daniel who quietly thanked him before taking a swig of more alcohol. The world was really getting blurry at this point. Usually Daniel hated being drunk. Maybe it went hand in hand with the control freak thing. He didn't like not being able to predict his actions. This was a special occasion though.

"Bloody Mary, please." a feminine voice sounded from besides Danny. He ignored it for the most part, only interested in taking another drink of his own alcohol. That's another way he had drastically changed ever since Henley had left. He used to make it his first priority to bring in girls with the most elementary of magic tricks that still managed to amaze them into his apartment afterwards. He had no interest in that anymore.

"Hi." The girl said in an obviously over the top flirty voice. Daniel raised his eyebrows and looked over at her, giving a slight nod, then returning to his drink.

"You look familiar."

The phrase would've normally caused Danny to flip out and get the hell out of there, but why should he care? No matter how hard he tried to keep everything running smoothly for the group, they always ended up going behind his back and screwing everything up anyway.

"Do I?" His slurred words sounded foreign and distant to him.

"Wait..." the girl said, dropping her fake, high-pitched flirty act. "Are you that magic guy?"

Danny chuckled. "That magic guy..." he repeated. "I suppose you could call it that."

"Soooo..." The girl said, putting her hand on his. Danny was a little too out of it to process what she was doing at first, only looking down at her hand and then stuttering out a response.

"I mean, I guess I could. Something..." he rambled, reaching into his pocket to pull out his cards. "Real quick."

Within minutes he had attracted a small crowd around him. He only performed simple tricks that were like second nature to him, partly because he didn't care enough at the moment to really bring out the extra wow-factor but also he was too inebriated to have great motor skills at the same time. Still though, the crowd was nevertheless pleased with him providing entertainment (particularly the girls).

"It's in your pocket." a rough voice came from behind the crowd. Danny furrowed his brow and looked over to see the blurred image of a tougher looking guy with a can of beer gripped in his hand so tightly you'd think it was his lifeline.

"Uh, Ms." Danny beckoned to the noticeably beautiful girl sitting next to the skeptic. "Do you mind checking my pockets for me?"

She smiled shyly and stood up, making her way over to him to the other guy's chagrin. Danny cocked an eyebrow at the man the whole time, his trademark smug smile across his lips as the girl dug around in his jacket pockets, finding nothing. The infuriated and slightly embarrassed expression on the cynic's face was enough to satisfy Daniel. Usually the typical doubter would shut up after being proven wrong, however this guy would not let his pride go.

"Whatever. This stuff is bullshit. A sham." The guy said. His girlfriend rolled her eyes.

"Anthony, stop." the girl said, obviously embarrassed by the scene he was making. She turned and gave Danny an apologetic smile.

"Come on, we're leaving." Anthony said, grabbing her arm and beginning to walk out.

"Ow." she muttered, angrily trying to pull away. Daniel felt anger flare up in him. He took a King of Spades and whipped it at the asshole making his way towards the door. He retracted his hand with a hiss and turned to Danny with a snarl.

"Yeah, Anthony." Danny said. The little voice that was supposed to be his conscious told him this was a stupid idea, however the alcohol was really clouding his decision making at the moment. Not that Danny was ever able to avoid turmoil sober. "Why don't you stay a while?"

Anthony slammed his drink down on the nearest table, his eyes ablaze and the muscles in his arms pulsing.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen." Danny said, clumsily shoving his cards back into his inner jacket pocket. "That'll be all for tonight."

The crowd "awed" in disappointment as Daniel started to stumble towards the back door of the bar despite the protests of the employees in the kitchen. He walked backwards so he could see Anthony pushing over chairs in order to clamor through the room towards Danny. When he felt the cool metal of the handle on the small of his back, Danny turned and pushed open the door into the cool night air. The sound of New York traffic filled his ears as he attempted to keep upright while making his way out of the dark alleyway at the back of the restaurant before he got snapped in half by an angry drunk guy.

"Hey!" the scruff voice emanated from closely behind him. Danny felt a steel grip bear down on his should, forcing him around to stare directly at the monster of a man.

"Don't ever undermine me in front of my girl." he breathed, the smell of beer heavy in the air.

"Right." Danny said. "However, I don't think you need me to do that. You seemed to be doing just a swell job of that on your own."

Shut up, Daniel. He told himself. His mouth always got him into trouble, but it wasn't like this guy didn't deserve it.

"You fucking prick." the man huffed, raising an arm to land a punch. Luckily Danny was faster, even in his drunken state. He reached into his pocket and felt the smooth metal surface of his handcuffs, maneuvering to snap them onto the guy's wrist in lightning fast speed, the other end closing around a pipe jutting out from the back of the building. Anthony tried to swing down, his arm stopping mid punch with the constraint of the handcuffs. The look of pure idiotic confusion was enough to make Danny smirk. However, his victory was short lived when the man tugged and the pipe came crashing down.

"Shit..." Danny muttered. Before he had any time to react, Anthony got in that punch he wanted. It felt like a ton of bricks had crashed into Daniel's face. There was more than enough hard impact to leave a good mark, he was sure. Danny grunted and felt his legs collapse under him from the impact. His face throbbed as he pushed backwards away from the heavy breathing neanderthal, noticing that he was still handcuffed to the pipe- the pipe was just no longer attached to anything else. Danny was able to grab the steel tube and yank it backwards as he kicked forward, getting him in his tree trunk of an ankle. Both these things contributed to the guy going down, his giant body crumbling to the ground.

Daniel took that time to stumble up onto his feet. He didn't know whether it was the alcohol or being knocked pretty hard in the face, but he was not finding standing easy. The world was twisting and turning around him, everything just an indefinite blurred shape of bright colors.

Now's the part where you get the hell out of here, Atlas. He ordered himself. His brain tried to get the message to his limbs to get moving, but everything felt so heavy. Before he got the chance to even try to inarticulately stagger out of there, he felt hand grip the front of his shirt, hoisting him off of his feet until his back slammed into a brick wall.

"You're dead." Anthony breathed. Danny knew that for once in this guy's life he may actually be right this time. There was no way he was going to be able to fight this sack of steroids- not plastered, anyway.

"When I count down from five, you're going to get very tired." A familiar voice came from somewhere behind the giant mass that was holding Daniel against the wall. "Five, four, three, two, one, sleep."

The pressure forcing Danny up against the cold, hard stone lifted and Daniel crumpled to the ground. He would've fallen to his knees if it weren't for two sets of hands grabbing each of his arms and hoisting him up.

"You sir, are the dumbest of the dumbasses." Merritt's voice came from Danny's right. He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, trying to see the world around him a little more clearly. Merritt and Jack surrounded him, lifting each of his arms over their shoulders to drag him out of the alley and away from the seemingly asleep Anthony on the ground.

Danny was honestly very relieved to hear his friend's voice. He was also a bit disconcerted, refusing the truth that he needed help in the first place.

"How did you find me?"

"We tracked your phone. You're welcome by the way."

"I didn't-"

"I swear to God, I'll match the left side of your face to your right if you say you didn't need our help." Jack interrupted, helping Merritt pull open the door to their car and helping Danny into the back. Daniel just groaned in response as he laid down again the leather seats, moving his hand up to feel the right side of his face and feeling blood. The sound of the front doors open and closing as Jack and Merritt got into the car sounded and the car started up with a low hum. Daniel closed his eyes and draped an arm over his eyes against the harsh street lights around him. Everything was especially bright at the moment.

"How much did you have to drink?" Jack asked, shifting in his seat to turn to look at Danny.

"Can't remember."

Jack scoffed and shook his head. Jack and Merritt continued with their own quiet conversation the rest of the ride home. Daniel didn't mind. He was very dizzy and very tired. He didn't feel like explaining himself to his friends who he was mad at anyway.

"Alright. Come on, kid." Merritt said when they arrived at the safe house. He popped open the back door and Danny pushed himself up, wincing all the way.

"Don't call me kid." he muttered.

"Well that's exactly how you've been acting, like a kid having a tantrum." Merritt said calmly back. Danny groaned and rolled his eyes, allowing Merritt to support him from one side as Jack ran to get through the security of the front gate to open the front door for them. The journey through the house was a blur to Daniel. All he knew was that he ended up in his room, sitting at the edge of his bed.

"Jack..." Danny muttered, his thoughts feeling as if someone had thrown his mind in a blender and set it to high. "You're a good magician." He wasn't sure where this was even coming from, but he felt like he needed to say it right then in that exact moment.

"Um... thanks, Danny." Jack said, surprise clear in his voice as he set a water down next to Danny's bed.

"I'm just... a better... a better-er magician." he muttered. Jack seemed like he tried not to laugh at this but failed.

"Great, thanks."

"Merritt?"

"Yes, Danny Boy?"

"Fuck You."

Merritt sighed and Danny chuckled like it was the funniest thing in the world. Man, he was not going to have a good morning.

"Where'd you find him?" a light voice came from the doorway.

"Drunk behind a bar about to have the shit beaten out of him." Jack answered, setting a hangover pill next to the water he had left on the nightstand.

"God, Danny. What'd you do this time?"

It was Henley's voice, this he knew right away even with his mind boggled.

"Nothing."

"Yeah, okay." Merritt said sarcastically. "I'm sure it had to do with his inability to shut the hell up."

"Yeah, you can leave now." Danny mutter bitingly.

Merritt threw up his hands in the air defensively and turned and left, Jack patting Danny's shoulder and following. That just left Henley in the doorway, a box of some sorts in her hand. She made her way over to him, but even in the discombobulate image around him, Daniel could tell she was stiff and uncomfortable. She was probably worried that he'd snap at her again or make some rude comment. Suddenly, he felt really bad.

"Hold still." she said quietly, taking medical supplies from the box. Oh right... he thought, remembering his wound below his eye.

"Ow." he groaned when she began cleaning his injury. Her face was only about a foot away from his, her eyes focused and her hair in a pony tail. She was wearing dark sweatpants and a tank top. Danny knew that was what she generally slept in. It made him realize he really had no idea how late it was.

"You're an idiot, Daniel Atlas." she said, dabbing away the blood with gauze. Danny knew that if he was sober and in the right state of mind, he'd find a snarky counter to her sassiness, but all he could do was stare at her. His mind and mouth found no words to say. He was more confused than anything. He wanted to hate her forever for leaving. He wanted to be stronger than his will to run back to her and give her all of his vulnerabilities. Who was he kidding though? He loved her. He never stopped loving her. God, why was his pride and ego always making such a mess of things?

"Get to sleep. You can go back to hating me in the morning." she said after she finished. He couldn't tell if she was joking or if there was bitterness and hurt behind her words. Either way, she stood and started making her way out rather coldly. Sighing, Danny eased himself to lie down on his bed, pulling up the covers around him.

"Thanks." he muttered groggily. He watched the silhouette of Henley turn in the door way, her posture softening just a bit.

"It's fine." she said, shrugging. "You won't remember it tomorrow anyway." she said. That time he could tell that she had a hint of amusement in her voice. He would've smiled but he was so tired. Instead, Daniel let his eyes slide close to the sound of Henley gently closing his bedroom door. He probably wouldn't remember any of this the next day. It was a shame too. Waking up the same bitter version of himself was going to make for a rough car ride.


End file.
